Communicating with children is a fundamental part of youth coaching. How we interact and connect with our players underpins everything else we do, making it vital that we learn to communicate effectively and form positive relationships. In this article, we explain why it’s so important to connect with our players, discuss the value of empowerment in learning, and consider some effective strategies for communicating with children. In This Article The Importance of Connecting Good communication and an ability to build relationships with our players are…
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In this fascinating and in depth conversation, PDP Editor, Dave Wright hosts International Hockey Coach & Coach Developer at Oxford Brookes University, Danny Newcombe. Danny and Dave discuss a wide range of topics around skill acquisition, constraints based coaching, creating a learning environment, the coaching spectrum and more. This is a must watch interview with a true innovator and thought leader in coaching. Danny is a Senior Lecturer, Coach Developer and Skill Acquisition Expert at Oxford Brookes University in England. A leading Hockey Coach, Danny…
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Take the Coaching QuizIn this Masterclass Webinar Replay, UEFA A licensed coaches Dave Wright and Dan Wright will co-host a discussion which helps coaches support individuals within their team. Dave and Dan will be joined by special guest, Graham Mills, Academy Coach at Southampton FC & Lecturer in Sports Coaching from Solent University. Graham, Dan and Dave have extensive player development experience in the English Academy system while Dan has also coached in Africa and Dave has worked in both Australia and New Zealand. This conversation focusses on:…
How can you make your environment as positive as possible? In this Masterclass Discussion, Positive Psychology expert, Lara Mossman joins PDP Editor, Dave Wright for an in-depth discussion on positive psychology in coaching. Lara is one of Player Development Project’s founding contributors and is a world-class expert in the area of positive psychology in coaching. Dave and Lara tackle some common misconceptions around psychology, discuss what positive psychology is and how coaches can apply it. The conversation also covers what an autonomy supportive environment actually…
Martyn Rothwell, Joseph A. Stone, Keith Davids, and Craig Wright The Big Idea In the pursuit of producing “expert” sports men and women, there is a myth worth exploring. It is common to take for granted that the number of years or hours of practice are predictive of becoming expert. For example, there is something called the 10,000-hour rule. The psychologist K. Anders Ericsson studied how people become experts in their field. He concluded that 10,000 hours of practice was a reasonable rule of thumb. …
After their dominant performance at the 2014 World Cup in Brazil, including the 7-1 demolition of the host nation, the football world is wanted to understand how Germany transformed their broken team of Euro 2000 into a world-beating machine. PDP Editor, Dave Wright examines the resurrection of German Football. Time for Change It is well documented that after the team crashed out in the first round of Euro 2000, Germany took drastic action. Working from the bottom up, they underwent a total restructure of how they went…
In our latest Player Development Project webinar replay, we focus on coaching younger players. PDP Technical Advisor, Dan Wright is joined by two top academy coaches, Nathan Thomas and Nathan Philip. Nathan Thomas is currently the Lead Foundation Phase Coach at MK Dons and has experience coaching at Middlesborough, Arsenal and Brentford – he also holds the FA Advanced Youth Award. Nathan Philip holds both the UEFA A Licence and Advanced Youth Award, has worked across these age groups in both coaching and recruitment roles…
TOVO Institute Founder, Todd Beane, discusses the need for a holistic view of player development. One indicator of a footballer’s chance for success beyond sport competition is the way in which they’re trained as a youth player. Experts in the field of child development point out the importance of holistic development. That is, children are multi-dimensional by nature and need to be nurtured physically, mentally and emotionally. It is critical to offer the youngster a safe environment in which to explore and learn. Applying this knowledge to…
P. Potrac, R.L. Jones, D Gilbourne and L. Nelson. The Big Idea Let’s approach this research paper indirectly. For it concerns a hard truth in the profession of football coaching, the culture of it. Let’s introduce the problem by way of fiction first – even though there is nothing fictive in the comparison. Louise Penny is an award-winning Canadian writer. Her novels feature Chief Inspector Armand Gamache of the Surete de Quebec. Early on in one of Penny’s books, Inspector Isabelle Lacoste reflected on how…
The art of observation. What details should coaches be looking for? Todd Beane explains why it is important for a coach to ‘observe’ their players rather than just ‘watch’ them. Are you watching or observing your players? Many consider these two words synonymous. To watch is to observe and to observe is to watch. But, I find a distinction here that may help us become better at our craft. Let’s take a look at the definitions. Watch: to see what is done or happens. Observe: to regard with…
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Football can be a powerful evoker of emotions. But, as coaches, it’s vital that we remain calm around our players and don’t let emotional responses govern our actions. Below, coach and author David Mayer discusses the importance of emotional awareness, and how developing emotional control can help us to create better learning environments for our players. In This Article Being Aware of Your Emotions In all walks of life, we can benefit from understanding, and knowing how to react positively to, our emotions. This is…
Being organised and following a session plan are fundamental to good coaching. Knowing how to efficiently set up your session can save you time, increase ball-rolling time for the players, and minimise stress when you first arrive. In our Introduction to Soccer Coaching online course, Rob Sherman (Current Fiji Men’s National Team Coach and Former Technical Director of Football Australia) shares his system for ensuring you’ve got everything covered when you turn up to training. Rob’s N.E.A.T system helps to ensure the players spend their…
Safety may not be the first characteristic we associate with exceptional coaching environments, but, for our players, a sense of security is essential to being able to learn effectively. Below, we draw upon the knowledge of several experts as we explain why safe coaching environments are so important, and how we can engender a culture of trust, security, and enjoyment within our teams and clubs. ] In This Article The Importance of Safe Environments If we’re to give kids the best chance of enjoying football…
Quick Navigation About the Video Interpreting the Diagrams Part 1: Ball Hunter Part 2: Shooting and defending transition game Part 3: 3v3 ABC 123 Transition Game Part 4: Small Sided Game: Transition Winner Stays On Moments of the Game The PDP team believes that in football, there are four moments of the game. They are, controlling possession, defending, transition (attacking or defensive) and creating and scoring. In line with this view of the game, we are producing full 60-90 minute training plans on these four…
What value do stories play in sport? Making sense of the sporting narrative and being able to translate and challenge these ideas in our coaching is a critical part of player development. Tradition plays a huge part in the systems with which we operate as coaches. Breaking the norm and creating a new narrative can be a catalyst for change. Joining us for this intriguing conversation will be Al Smith, Co-founder of myfastestmile on how the narratives around you can influence your coaching behaviour, performance and…
Tactics are an important part of football. But how prominent should they be in our coaching when we’re working with younger players? As coaches, it’s sometimes easy to focus too heavily on tactics, perhaps at the expense of other crucial areas of development for the kids we’re working with. In this article, we consider when to include a tactical focus in our coaching, the importance of not overloading our players, and how to encourage tactical awareness while developing independent decision-makers. In This Article What do…
The debate around hard work vs. talent, and which is more important, can be a contentious one among coaches. But perhaps our focus should not be deciding whether talent beats hard work, or vice versa, but determining the best ways to support all of the individuals within our team, regardless of ability. In this Q&A, we discuss the definition of talent and the pitfalls of early talent identification, address the challenges of working with players of different abilities, and consider how to work with a…
Many world-class performers tell stories of discomfort, rejection and failure at some point in their past. Is this coincidence? Or do these uncomfortable experiences lay the foundation for long-term development and, ultimately, success. PDP Lead Researcher, James Vaughan discusses the importance of discomfort on the learning journey. American scholars such as Brene Brown and Robert Horner (researchers into education, development and vulnerability) have led us to the following question: if curiosity marks the start of the learning process and vulnerability is the birthplace of creative connection, is…
How can parents and coaches help young players overcome a perfectionist mindset? Chief Content Officer at Changing the Game Project, Reed Maltbie shares a fantastic article around some of the modern challenges parents and coaches face with perfectionism on the rise in a status-driven society. Recently, Changing the Game Project received a question that we get often, so we thought it would make a great blog: “I was wondering if you could provide some advice. My son is 8 years old and plays on a…
PDP Video Session Plans are adaptable sessions designed by academy coach, Dave Wright. All sessions show key focus points, set up, and progressions so you can use them in your next practice.